What’s In A Name?, Pt 4: El-Elyon
Genesis 14:17-22 17After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.”
Psalm 78:35 35They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer.
Daniel 4:34 34At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.
1Samuel 5:1-4 1After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. 3When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained.
Sociologists refer to Western society these days as being ‘Post-Christian’. When I first heard this description several decades ago I was extremely offended because I live my life in as believing away as possible. I have come to accept this label though as I realize the almost anti-God bias which exists in the Western culture.
You might ask, “What does this have to do with El-Elyon?” The English translation of El-Elyon is God Most High; it is the attempt by the Hebrew mind to keep reverence and respect of God paramount.
Let’s look at El Elyon. El is the shortened form of Elohim which we just learned about. In ancient Hebrew, there was no direct way of expressing the superlative, like best or greatest. Superlatives were often accomplished by doubling the adjective, like saying “He is a wise wise man.” Similarly, Elyon is like the superlative of “El” and could be translated “strongest.” El Elyon, therefore, is the strongest strong One, or “the most high God.”
Every instance where the name Elyon is used for God, universal, sovereign rule is in view. Abraham defeated four heathen kings through El Elyon, possessor of Heaven and earth (Gen. 14:19). According to Moses, it was Elyon who portioned out to the nations their geographical boundaries in relationship to Israel because Jerusalem is the capital city of the King of kings (Dt. 32:8-9). When Jesus passed into the land of the Gadarenes and Paul into Europe, there was demonic opposition, but it gave way to El Elyon, the strongest strong One (Gen. 14:18, 20, 22). When Paul stood on Mars Hill and spoke to the Greeks, he said it was Elyon, their unknown god, who “. . . made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth . . .” (Acts 17:26). When Satan tried to usurp El Elyon’s universal rule from the throne room of Heaven, he was sentenced to be cast into the pit (Isa. 14:15). And finally, Nebuchadnezzar, head of gold of the image of Gentile world powers, went insane until he acknowledged that El Elyon “. . . does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. . . .” (Dan. 4:35).
El Elyon is one of the truly exquisite names for God found in the Bible. Each of the divine names is given to reveal to man some quality or characteristic of God that cannot be found to the same extent in any other creature. Divine names, therefore, set God apart from and elevate Him infinitely higher than all other beings, whether in Heaven or earth. In this case El Elyon reminds us that there is indeed a firm foundation on which we can stand in this chaotic cultural sea we are in.
A case in point: It was during his second missionary journey that some philosophers brought Paul to the Areopagus to debate his teachings about Jesus. Paul had found among their numerous temples one dedicated to the ‘unknown god’. These people of Athens were very religious. They constructed altars to their multitudes of gods. But, in case there was one they didn’t know about – one they missed and might possibly offend – they ‘hedged their bet’ by building an altar to “the unknown god.” Paul identified this god as El Elyon and he preached Him to those men of idols and many of them believed.
It’s 2000 years later and Western culture has much in agreement with the Athenian culture. We worship many gods (small g). Entertainers, sports figures, television, movies, and others are all examples of things we place on altars. In many ways we have put God (big g) in the place of the Athenian unknown god. And look what has happened in our culture. In the last 50 years we have murdered 62.5 American citizens. Only we call it The Right To Choose. Public school systems are teaching the LGBTQ agenda that homosexuality is OK. Only we call it Pride. Politics is no longer the discourse of gentlemen, it is hate only thinly disguised. Tolerance has been redefined. Where once it meant ‘I don’t agree with your views but I accept you as a valued human being’, it now means ‘you must accept my values as truth’.
People are uncomfortable. Their values are being questioned. They are unhappy with the ways things are, but uncertain about what to do about it. But it seems clear to me that to find stability in an unstable world one has to look for things unaffected by the unstable world. In my mind, there is only one. So I commend to you El Elyon, the Most High God, the strongest strong One, the possessor of Heaven and earth. I pray you find Jesus as your Savior if you don’t know him already. If He is your God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are resting on that only immovable point in a changing world. Jesus has said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). We should pay attention to those words. If God, El-Elyon, who is the creator of everything can actually have a relationship with us through our Lord Jesus, then surely he is our unchangeable source of stability. He is the One who is at work at all times, and in all circumstance. Even in our chaotic culture. You can trust in him.
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1Corinthians 15:58)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Rosenthal, M. (1985). El-Elyon: The God Most High. Israel My Glory, August-October 1985.